Having pioneered connected TV applications for the global hotel industry since 2010, Swisscom Hospitality Services today announced the launch of its second-generation ConnectedHotel TV offering. The new release, in cooperation with hospitality TV technology leader LG Electronics, enables secure content streaming from digital guest devices to the TV screen and the integration of HTML-based hotel applications into the program menu. Moving from LCD to LED display technology and capitalizing on LG’s flexible Pro: Centric applications platform, ConnectedHotel TV maintains its proven success features, namely its compatibility with both coaxial networks and Ethernet and its all-in-one solution design.
ConnectedHotel TV was launched in autumn 2010 as the first hospitality solution that delivers interactive High Definition Television, Video on Demand, Wired and Wireless Internet Access through one converged network and one TV screen without a set-top box and without any extra room cabling. With its “one device, one network” concept, ConnectedHotel TV yields significant cost benefits in terms of hardware acquisition, installation and ongoing maintenance costs. Furthermore, the solution sustainably reduces energy consumption while supporting the “green” aspirations of the world’s leading hotel companies. Over the past 18 months, ConnectedHotel TV has been deployed in more than 60 first-class hotels from Azerbaijan to the United Kingdom.
The new product release anticipates emerging guest needs and user trends. One of the most remarkable trends in today’s hospitality industry is the increasing number of travelers that arrive with their own personal communication and entertainment devices. Many of them wish to create their own personalized entertainment environment, be it through streaming content from their mobile device or by accessing their favorite Web applications such as Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr or Picasa on the TV screen. Swisscom is responding to this challenge with its HTML5 in-room entertainment application running on LG’s next-generation Pro:Centric platform. It makes the guest room TV screen interoperable with digital guest devices and allows for secured content delivery through the Swisscom-managed Wireless network. In addition, the new Swisscom approach is expected to enable the seamless integration of web-based applications into the traditional TV menu.
Explains Thomas di Giacomo, VP Global Service Development for Swisscom Hospitality Services: “Complete guest personalization is the next step forward in hotel IPTV. Having enabled a far-reaching customization of the guest user interface with our ground-breaking flash programming, allowing the hotel to promote its brand identity and service offering along with the regular program offering, we are now looking at new ways of personalizing the guest experience. Thanks to our new HTML5 TV interface, hoteliers can empower their guests to stream personal and live content within their branded media space, thereby meeting new guest needs in times of exploding media and Internet usage.”
The second generation of ConnectedHotel TV matches Swisscom’s HTML5-based application with LG’s brand-new Pro:Centric LT760H series, which packages a host of new hotel and guest functionality into cutting-edge LED screens. Offering a consistent look and feel in wide range of sizes, from 22- to 47inches, the new LT760H screens provide a rich development environment for hoteliers to serve their guests through customized applications. The new LG screens are HTML enabled and DNLA certified (Digital Living Network Alliance), meaning that they facilitate digital content sharing with media tablets, Smartphone and other multimedia devices without the need for a separate media player.
“We are very proud to expand our collaboration with Swisscom Hospitality Services,” says Shawn Kim, Head of LG Electronics European B2B Operations. “Through our continuous, joint product development, our solutions have reached a high level of maturity, where we can build on proven functionality while adding new features and broadening our collaboration across all continents. ConnectedHotel TV based on LG Pro:Centric technology shows our commitment to the hotel industry. We are ready to support Swisscom with our hospitality-dedicated TV screens on a global scale.”
About Swisscom Hospitality Services
Swisscom Hospitality Services, a subsidiary of Switzerland’s leading Telecom carrier Swisscom, supplies the global hotel industry with integrated technology solutions. We advise hotel chains and groups on the rapidly evolving digitization of their communication services and work with them towards optimizing their IT Total Cost of Ownership. We build and manage convergent hotel networks that integrate both Swisscom and 3rd-party applications. The Swisscom suite of guest and hotel applications includes IPTV, Connected TV, HSIA, Voice over IP, room controls as well as business center and conference solutions. Swisscom works with 2.000+ partner hotels across EMEA, Asia and North America.
www.swisscom.com/hospitality
About the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company
The LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company is a top global player in televisions, monitors, commercial displays, audio video systems, personal computers and security systems. The company constantly pushes the technological boundaries to create feature-rich devices with stylish designs that meet global consumer needs. LG's consumer products include CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, OLED, UD TVs, and IPS monitors as well as home theater systems and Blu-ray Disc™ players. LG’s commercial, or B2B, products include hospitality TVs, digital signage, video conferencing systems and IP security cameras. LG Electronics is a 2012 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year. For more information, please visit www.LG.com and www.LGsolutions.com.
